Question 1

Why use لي instead of عندي to say "I have" here?

Accepted Answer

In Arabic, different words for "have" are used depending on what you possess. لي (which literally means "to me") is used for human relationships, like family members (أخ, brother) and friends, as well as abstract ideas. You would use عندي for physical objects you own, like a car or a book.

Question 2

What exactly is the word لي made of?

Accepted Answer

It is a combination of the preposition لـ (li), which means "to" or "for", and the attached pronoun ـي (i), which means "me" or "my". Together they mean "to me", which is the standard way to express "I have" when talking about relatives.

Question 3

Why does the sentence start with لي (to me) instead of the brother and sister?

Accepted Answer

This is a strict rule about word order. In Arabic, if the subject is indefinite (meaning "a brother", not "the brother"), and the sentence uses a prepositional phrase like لي to mean "have", the "have" part must come first. You are literally saying "To me is a brother and a sister."

Question 4

How do we say "and a sister"? Do the words join together?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the word for "and" is the single letter و (wa). In Arabic, it never stands alone as a separate word with a space after it. It always attaches directly to the front of the following word, so "and a sister" is written as one connected block: وأخت (wa-ukht).

لي أخ وأخت.

Breakdown of لي أخ وأخت.

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